A video server encodes a video signal acquired by a video camera or the like into video data, and accumulates the video data in a storage module including a semiconductor memory. The video server decodes the accumulated video data, and outputs the decoded video data as a video signal. The output video signal is used for broadcasting and video confirmation prior to broadcasting.
As described above, in the conventional video server, it has been common that a video signal is input from outside, and the input video signal is internally encoded. However, in recent years, input/output of a video file in a file format is also required.
In order to meet the requirement, the general-purpose Ethernet (registered trade name) switch may be used in a video server to input a video signal and a video file. However, network congestion might be caused in the video server including the Ethernet switch when a massive amount of video data or a large number of video files are transmitted. Further, as the video server includes a plurality of storage modules, it is also necessary to make it possible to sufficiently utilize the processing performance of the storage modules.